Minster Makes Big Plays in 41-21 Win over Fort Recovery

by Bruce Monnin

MINSTER – In a game that was much closer than the final score indicated, the Minster Wildcats used big plays on offense, defense and special teams to secure a 41-21 victory over the Fort Recovery Indians. When the crucial moments in the game arrived, the homestanding Wildcats responded in all three phases of the game. Despite the final 20-point difference, both teams had approximately the same amount of yardage gained.

“They (Fort Recovery) moved the ball well on us,” admitted Minster coach Seth Whiting. “But when it came time to buckle down, the kids did. We forced a fumble; we had an interception and we had two goal-line stops. We were on them all week about executing and playing a complete game. I don’t think we played a complete game, but we definitely played much better. There was growth this week.”

After being on the receiving end of a trick opening play last week, Minster opened the game with one of their own. Wide receiver James Niemeyer took the pitch on an end around, then launched a deep 52-yard pass to Devan Wuebker at the 10-yard line. On fourth down, Brogan Stephey scored from five yards out to give the Wildcats an early 7-0 lead.

The Indians responded with a drive inside the Minster 20-yard line, but the Minster defense forced a fumble which was recovered by Kaleb Sharp. This time the Wildcats used 13 plays to cover 82 yards with Connor Schmiesing scoring on a 1-yard run to make the score 14-0 after one period.

Fort Recovery moved the ball efficiently on their next possession, marching 80 yards on a drive that was capped by a Cale Rammel 5-yard run, cutting the deficit to 14-7. A defensive stop retuned the ball to the Indians, and a 39-yard completion from Rammel to Riggs Tobe took the ball to the Minster two-yard line. A holding penalty sent Fort Recovery backwards, and the Wildcat defense stopped the Indians on downs.

After surviving that scare, Minster methodically used up the final five plus minutes of the half. Sixteen plays later, Stephey scored on a 13-yard fourth down run to make the lead 21-7 at intermission.

Fort Recovery received the second half kickoff and drove straight down the field to get back within a touchdown. A Rammel one-yard run finished the drive and the Indians seemed to have the momentum. Chase Couse soon ended that, as he received the ensuing kickoff near the left sideline, broke four tackles as he moved to the right side of the field, and ran 80 yards to paydirt, expanding the lead back to 28-14.

The Wildcat defense soon after turned in another big play. Niemeyer read the quarterback’s eyes then cut in front of an Indian receiver to intercept a deep pass. Stephey eventually finished off this drive with a 3-yard run, making the lead 34-14 early in the fourth quarter.

Both teams scored one more time. Fort Recovery on a one-yard run by Troy Homan, and Minster on a 48-yard Stephey run in which he outmaneuvered many Indian defenders on his way to the end zone. It was part of 179 rushing yards and four touchdowns for the sophomore signal caller.

“He’s very good with the ball in his hands. He cuts really well, and he has great vision,” complimented Whiting. “The offensive line really amped it up this week. They were very frustrated after last Friday but had a great week of practice and worked really hard to fix some of the little things that were going on and make sure they were doing their job.”

Minster’s 356 yards of offense came mostly on the ground, largely on the legs on Stephey. Fort Recovery’s 353 yards of offense included 225 yards through the air from the arm of Rammel, with Homan catching five passes for 82 yards.

The win pushes Minster’s record to 2-2, and on Friday the Wildcats travel to face 2-2 Anna. Fort Recovery’s record drops to 1-3, and the Indians return home to face 1-3 Delphos St. John’s next week.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Minster 14 7 7 13 41

Fort Recovery 0 7 7 7 21

First Quarter:

MIN – Brogan Stephey 5 yd run (Brogan Stephey kick), 10:28

MIN – Connor Schmiesing 1 yd run (Brogan Stephey kick), 1:32

Second Quarter:

FR – Cale Rammel 5 yd run (Bo Thien kick), 10:36

MIN – Brogan Stephey 13 yd run (Brogan Stephey kick), 0:13

Third Quarter:

FR – Cale Rammel 1 yd run (Bo Thien kick), 7:32

MIN – Chase Couse 80 yd kickoff return (Brogan Stephey kick), 7:15

Fourth Quarter:

MIN – Brogan Stephey 3 yd run (kick failed), 11:06

FR – Troy Homan 1 yd run (Bo Thien kick), 5:12

MIN – Brogan Stephey 48 yd run (Brogan Stephey kick), 4:17

Team statistics MIN FR

First downs 17 14

Rushes - yards 42-239 27-128

Passing yards 117 225

Comp - att - int 8-14-0 13-23-1

Total yards 356 353

Punts - average 1-31.0 0-0.0

Fumbles - lost 1-0 1-1

Penalties - yards 4-45 2-15

Time of possession 25:56 22:04

Individual statistics

Rushing: Minster, Stephey 20-179, Bergman 10-33, McClurg 1-11, Schmiesing 6-9, Frimel 2-6, Poeppelman 1-4, Gehret 2-minus 3; Fort Recovery, Homan 8-59, Rammel 11-39, Hartnagel 8-30

Passing: Minster, Stephey 6-12-0-59, Niemeyer 2-2-0-58; Fort Recovery, Rammel 13-23-1-225

Receiving: Minster, Wuebker 3-72, Niemeyer 3-31, Schmiesing 1-8, Stephey 1-6; Fort Recovery, Homan 5-86, Tobe 3-68, Guggenbiller 3-51, Hartnagel 1-17, Acheson 1-3